Homeowner gets more time on code fixes

Tuesday

Jun 17, 2014 at 10:28 PM

Man made national headlines after painting house to resemble U.S. flag

By SHELBY WEBB

Catherine Greer thanked God for the broken windows in her home.

As the mother of seven stood in front of the City of Bradenton’s Code Enforcement Board on Tuesday afternoon, she grew emotional as she discussed the appearance of her house and her seven adopted children.

“I’m glad my house was in disarray, I’m glad my windows were broken,” Catherine said as her voice cracked. “Because that means that I have kids in my house. I couldn’t have my own kids for 20 years, now I have seven, praise God that I need paint.”

The Greer family’s battle with city code enforcement made national headlines after Catherine and her husband Joseph painted a giant American flag on their house.

The patriotic paint job was in retaliation to what they said was selective code enforcement of their 100-year-old home on Riverview Boulevard that Joseph’s family has lived in for three generations.

On Tuesday, the code enforcement board gave the Greer family a 90-day extension to bring their home up to city building codes.

But Joseph Greer said the extension means little when compared to the past four months he has spent feuding with code enforcement officers.

“It’s a joke. So what, they gave me more time,” Joseph Greer said. “This does not belong in front of this board.”

Code Enforcement Officer Mark Runnals, who had been inspecting the home, told board members that the Greers have fixed four of the nine violations he cited in his first inspection of the house.

Runnals added that the home was painted as an American flag after he cited the family for code violations, adding that there is nothing against city ordinances that prohibits a homeowner from painting a house in that way.

“The flag was painted on the house after we conducted our initial inspection,” Runnals said. “We’re not here to talk about the flag or anyone’s civil rights.”

Joseph disagreed.

“It is about civil rights, I’m sorry, but it is,” Joseph Greer said. “In my sworn affidavit you sent to me for a second time by mail, it said I had painted graffiti on my house. The only paint on my house is the American flag. If a sworn affidavit is just a catch-all, and it doesn’t have any specifics, then how is that not a violation of civil rights?”

Greer also took jabs at Officer Runnals’ photographs which were meant to show remaining violations.

Greer said one of the pictures, which showed about 10 planks of wood in Greer’s backyard, depicted lumber a group had bought to help replace older wood and to bring the house back up to code. The code enforcement officer said it was “an accumulation of trash.”

Another photograph, which showed a cord coming from near a wall air-conditioning unit, was of an electrical cord Greer had plugged in so he could use a power saw to trim wood.

But the improvements shown in the photographs were not just the doing of the Greer family.

Board members of Guardian Angels of Southwest Florida, a nonprofit organization that helps children within the foster care system, have been working with Greer, several local businesses and sub-contractors to fix up the house.

Floyd Price, one of the board members, spoke at Tuesday’s code enforcement hearing and told board members that the remaining work — which includes pressure-washing, replacing a window frame and painting — would not take long to complete.

“Everyone who’s working on this house is doing it for free or for a very reduced cost,” Price said. “The only reason it’s been taking so long is because everyone is trying to fit it in their schedules.”

Greer said the Guardian Angels’ help, community support, and a spotlight on foster care and adoptions have been bright spots during the ordeal.

He hoped that his house would be up to code as soon as possible so he and his family can move on.